March 2007 Journal of Geoscience Education

The Michel-Lévy Interference Color Chart for optical mineralogy (above) and as seen with
red/green colorblindness (deuteranope, below). Roughly 1 in 13 males have some kind of color deficit, so most mineralogy/petrology instructors will encounter students who have trouble with aspects of birefringence and pleochroism every year or so. Details

Conceptions of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming among Elementary Students from Diverse Languages and
Cultures
Okhee Lee, University of Miami
Benjamin T. Lester, University of Miami
Li Ma, University of Miami
Julie Lambert, Florida Atlantic University
Melissa Jean-Baptiste, University of Miami,

As part of a large-scale intervention, this study examined
conceptions of the greenhouse effect and global warming
among elementary students from diverse languages and
cultures in the U.S. To make science relevant and
meaningful for diverse student groups, the intervention
emphasized the integration of (a) scientific
understanding and inquiry, (b) English language and
literacy, and (c) students' home language and culture.
The study involved 5th grade students from five
elementary schools of varying demographic makeup in a
large urban school district. The intervention's
effectiveness was measured by student responses on a
writing prompt addressing this topic in the beginning
and at the completion of instruction over the school year.
The results indicate that students overall demonstrated
more scientific conceptual understandings after
instruction. Furthermore, all demographic subgroups in
terms of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English
proficiency, and home language demonstrated
statistically significant improvements after instruction,
with the exceptions of African-American and Haitian
students showing little or no gain.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 591kB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p117

This study quantifies improvements in introductory
students' concepts in geoscience after completion of a
nine week, entirely field-based geology course.
Sixty-three student participants in three consecutive
introductory field programs demonstrated statistically
significant improvements in geoscience concept
knowledge as a result of their experiences on the field
programs. Conceptual content gain was assessed using a
19-item, scaled Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI). The
scaled GCI mean pre and post-test scores of field course
participants show significantly greater improvement in
geoscience concept understanding compared with
scaled GCI scores from 29 other introductory geoscience
courses from across the United States (n = 63 students).
Geology courses taught as an extended field trip result in
improvements in geoscience concepts for their
introductory students that are significantly greater than
comparable campus-based courses.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 171kB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p126

FossilPlot, an Excel-based Computer Application for
Teaching Stratigraphic Paleontology Using the Sepkoski
Compendium of Fossil Marine Genera
Leif Tapanila, Idaho State University

FossilPlot is a new Excel-based spreadsheet application
of the Sepkoski Compendium designed for educational
use in paleontology and historical geology courses. This
free software allows students to compile any
combination of marine animal genera to generate graphs
depicting diversity curves and stratigraphic ranges for
the Phanerozoic. Sample exercises are provided to show
how this software can be integrated into lecture, lab and
field studies in university-level paleontology courses.
The large volume and full accessibility of the dataset
gives instructors a versatile tool to enhance active
learning of the dynamic history of life.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 2.4MB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p133

Box-diagrams of reservoirs and processes that describe
the rock, water and carbon cycles were used in a general
education course as instructional and assessment tools.
Students overall success at constructing correct
box-diagram models of the water cycle demonstrates
that they have three critical abilities: 1) to identify
substances, locations of substances and processes that
move and change substances in a system, 2) to organize
the substances and processes within different
frameworks and 3) to understand the generally cyclic
nature of a system. Many students lack a fourth critical
ability, to recognize parts of a system that are not readily
apparent or visible. Students who lack this fourth ability
are not able to construct diagrams with appropriate ions,
molecules and/or chemical reactions. This lack of
appropriate mental models is the major source of error in
students' attempts to describe movement and change of
matter with rock and carbon cycle box diagrams.
Students have greater success with box-diagram models
of the water cycle because chemical reactions were not
included in the water cycle. Phase change is important in
understanding the water cycle and students show
evidence of poor understanding of condensation.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 2MB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p138

Using Mobile Mapping to Determine Rates of Meander
Migration in an Undergraduate Geomorphology Course
Kirsten Menking and Meg E. Stewart, Vassar College

Students in an undergraduate geomorphology course
used tablet computers equipped with Global Positioning
System (GPS) receivers and Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) software to map the current location of a
stream that crosses the Vassar College campus in
Dutchess County, New York. They also digitized the
position of the stream on aerial photographs taken in
1959 to determine meander migration rates over the last
~45 years of ~0.2 m/yr. The purpose of the exercise was
to introduce basic GIS skills, such as georeferencing of air
photos, digitization, acquisition of GPS data points, data
projection, and creation of maps. Students were
evaluated on the quality of their maps and on an
accompanying short scientific article. Here we discuss
the exercise and the pros and cons of the tablet PC
technology.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 1.3MB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p147

Many future elementary science teachers have never
been exposed to constructivist-based science instruction
as recommended by national and state science standards.
A constructivist-based course format asserts that the
construction of knowledge arises from interactions
among students, activities that link prior conceptions to
new experiences, and hands-on and investigative
learning activities. This study indicates that a science
content course for preservice teachers can be designed
and implemented with constructivist teaching practices.
When education majors have experiences with
inquiry-based instructional methods in a content-based
course, their preparation as future teachers of science is
benefited. The constructivist framework of the course
appeared to have an impact on the future teachers'
beliefs about their ability to teach science effectively. The
key findings of the study indicate that the modeling of
effective instruction, exposure to science standards,
overviews of the nature of science, and practical
experiences with school-based curricular activities serve
to improve the educational experiences and self-efficacy
beliefs of the preservice teachers.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 258kB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p152

Teaching the Nitrogen Cycle and Human Health Interactions
Margaret Townsend, University of Kansas
Audrey C. Rule, State University of New York at Oswego
Mary Ann Meyer, Thomas M. Cooley High School, Detroit Public Schools
C. Jolene Dockstader, Jerome School District, Jerome, Idaho

An overview of components of the nitrogen cycle with
Internet resources for students to explore is presented to
discuss the ways this important cycle affects life.
Beneficial uses include fertilizers, explosives, aerosol
propellants and food packaging, and anesthetics;
problems associated with nitrogen include NOx
emissions, water pollution, and potential health effects.
A learning cycle lesson on the nitrogen cycle is provided,
along with pretest-posttest data (N-cycle drawings and
responses to a 25-question test) from rural sixth grade
students and urban high school students who
participated in the activities. Both groups were
enthusiastic about the lessons and showed significant
improvement, although final scores of the sixth graders
were low. Results of an additional experimental
group-control group pretest-posttest study with
undergraduate preservice elementary teachers indicated
that students learned more when using the hands-on
nitrogen cycle cards with objects and by writing related
poetry (experimental condition) than by creating a
nitrogen cycle diagram online through Internet searches
for information and writing summary essays of cycle
interactions. The high school and college students were
highly motivated by the lessons and showed larger gains
than sixth graders, indicating that the lessons are most
appropriate for older students.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 486kB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p158

Introducing Medical Geology to Undergraduates as a Critical Thinking and Risk Assessment Tool
Anne Taunton and Mickey Gunter, University of Idaho

Medical geology is a fast growing sub-discipline within
the geological sciences; in fact it now has its own division
within the Geological Society of America. With more
universities pushing for integrated science classes and
cross-discipline projects, it is necessary for geology
educators to help students think critically and creatively
about the incorporation of other fields of study into
geology. We have designed a straightforward project
suitable for undergraduates that emphasizes the role of
geology in human health. Using the publicly available
Vital Statistics of the United States, students calculate
standard mortality ratios (SMRs) from respiratory and
intrathoracic cancers and breast cancer as a function of
county of death in Montana and California over the
period of 1978-1993. The SMRs show variances in death
rates from these cancers when compared to the state
rates. The students can superimpose these data on
geological maps, then raise questions and form theories
about how geology may or may not impact the
population's health. Not only does this project foster
critical thinking skills about science integration, it serves
as a unique tool for teaching risk perception vs. reality.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 397kB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p169

A Professional Engineering Degree in Petroleum Geoscience to Satisfy Caribbean Industry
Richard A. Dawe, Brent Wilson, and Winston Rajpaulsingh The University of the West Indies

Faced with industrial growth but an aging community of
petroleum geoscientists, the petroleum industry in
Trinidad and Tobago needs an injection of locally-grown
graduates trained to the highest international standards
to fill professional positions. To address this
requirement, an undergraduate program in Petroleum
Geoscience was introduced into the Faculty of
Engineering at the University of the West Indies'
Trinidad Campus in September 2001. This was done at
the request of the Geological Society of Trinidad and
Tobago (GSTT), the Government, and the major
upstream petroleum companies, all of whom assisted in
the development of the unique, 3-year program by
forming an industry advisory committee (the JIAAC).
The program was taken through all its committee stages
during May-July 2001. Subsequent progress has been
phenomenal. All student intakes (limited to about 15 and
comprising local citizens) have had excellent
qualifications and have included some of the best
science-based school performers. Industry has already
assimilated three cohorts of students, totalling 43
graduates. Some have either been posted abroad by their
companies for career development, or are abroad for
further study, often sponsored by their company. A
further 46 are currently progressing through the
program.

This paper describes this undergraduate program in
petroleum geoscience and engineering. It is one of the
few university geoscience programs worldwide that (a)
was created through a partnership of academia,
government and industry, (b) focuses on the Petroleum
Sector, and (c) has the potential to be recognized globally
as an ideal setting for the recruitment of quality
geoscientists for petroleum exploration, development
and engineering. The partnership between industry,
higher education, government, and professional bodies
provides for prime development of human resources,
which is the key investment in developing the next
generation of local professionals.

Full Text(Acrobat (PDF) 558kB Jun6 07)URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/mar07.html#v55p181